Council approves update to naming policy; asks staff to bring donation guidance back to Governance & Ethics

The City Council adopted amendments to Council Policy 35 on Tuesday to standardize the process for naming city streets, parks and other facilities, and asked staff to return with a separate naming‑rights and donation policy for Governance & Ethics review.

Assistant to the City Manager Maria Le walked the council through the proposed changes: a revised title to explicitly reference streets, parks and other facilities; directing the Historical & Landmarks Commission’s approved name list to other commissions; and a requirement that naming recommendations to Governance & Ethics include two to three alternative names for consideration. The proposed policy also provides criteria for name selection — geographic and historic relevance, avoidance of confusingly similar names and a preference that honored individuals have a substantial, direct association with the site.

The revised policy keeps an expedited pathway for urgent or narrowly scoped naming (for example, internal conference rooms or immediate memorial recognition) to be approved by the city manager in limited circumstances. The Governance & Ethics Committee reviewed the draft policy earlier and recommended the changes; the committee also asked staff to return with a separate policy addressing donations and naming rights, rather than including donation language in the policy itself.

Several councilmembers asked that when Governance & Ethics forwards a committee recommendation to the full council, staff reports list the alternate names considered so the full council and public can see all options under consideration. Councilmember Chahal moved to approve the updated policy and to direct staff to bring a donation/naming‑rights policy to Governance & Ethics for review; the motion passed 5–2.